The extension of Nottingham's tram line to Toton Lane and Clifton brought a welcome jobs boost to the county in the wake of the 2008 recession, a new report has revealed.

The £575 million NET Phase Two project created 1,600 jobs at its peak – with the benefits already being felt less than a year after its completion.

It meant "employment increased significantly for residents in Nottinghamshire between 2010 and 2011 and in Nottingham between 2011 and 2013, in contrast to flat or falling national and regional trends", according to an independent study by Nottingham Business School, at Nottingham Trent University.

The report, released today, highlights a raft of benefits including a £100 million boost to the local economy, job creation, supply chain contracts and training opportunities – including nearly 400 people who were previously jobless or in education being employed on the construction project.

According to the report, key achievements during the construction included:

200 jobs being filled by contractors working with the city council's Employment Hub, a labour brokerage and recruitment service

50 out of the 80 participants on pre-employment training courses being employed on the project

Nearly 400 jobless people taken on

700 young people taking part in work experience courses involved in the project, and links forged with local further education and training providers.

One of the firms to benefit from the work was Magpie Security, in Queen's Road.

Its operations director James Loach said: "The tram scheme was a massive boost for us. We took 67 long-term unemployed people off the dole, with 124 people working on the tram project.

"It's led onto other big projects – we've got the contract to provide security at the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall, near Loughborough, a massive contract at Newark for Buckingham Group and another for Galliford Try, a construction firm in Hucknall.

"It created an awful lot of work and gave people the experience and skills to move on to bigger things. It was one of the biggest projects the East Midlands has ever seen. As a result of the tram project, we were invited to the pre-procurement process for HS2."

The Thomas Bow Group, in Middleton Street, clinched a £11 million contract to provide the road surfacing for Phase Two.

Its chairman, Alistair Bow, said: "On average we probably created another 30 jobs from the tram project. We started in April 2013 and we're still there now. It's enabled us to stay local and gave us the capacity to take on large contracts. At the time work wasn't plentiful, but the contract enabled us to grow, and 95 per cent of everything we get is put back into local business."

As well as providing employment opportunities, workers of the future benefited, with New College Nottingham and Vision West Notts College's students gaining vital skills through apprenticeships and other courses on the project.

New College Nottingham principal and chief executive Dawn Whitemore

New College Nottingham principal and chief executive Dawn Whitemore said: "This is a fantastic example of the power of partnership working; when the big players in the city come together in the right way, it makes a big difference to people's lives.

"We've given young people a solid grounding for their future careers through apprenticeships, and we've supported unemployed people back into the workplace through our sector-based work academies.

"At NCN we've been very proud to play our part in this key project for the city and the outcomes have really set the bar for how we work together with the public sector and with big business in the future."

The report also highlights a range of longer term benefits that are expected to feed through to the local economy by stimulating inward investment, the development of sites served by the network, a potential rise in land and property values, and by the tram's contribution to easing congestion.

Councillor Nick McDonald, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for business, growth and transport, said: "We've been clear that as well as the obvious transport improvements the expanded tram network brings, there are wider economic benefits from its development.

"I'm pleased that this report provides independent recognition and analysis of this and highlights the innovative ways in which we ensured local people gained employment, skills and training on the project."

But businesses in Beeston which suffered three years of disruption following the tram works have rubbished the report's findings.

Paul Williams, a director at Beeston Bed Centre, on Chilwell Road, which became part of the tramway, says businesses have suffered, not only during the construction but through the loss of parking since the extension was completed.

He said: "This boost to the economy hasn't happened here. There's less footfall than there was before."

James Wigginton, co-owner of The Guitar Spot, also on Chilwell Road, said: "I'm sure for some people, while working on the project it made some people money but for us all it's done is lost us money and it hasn't got any better. We have seen no benefit."

The report says the way the project helped hundreds of people to benefit from jobs and training is a model of best practice which should be adopted on other major infrastructure schemes such as HS2.

But Philippa Double, who runs Double Image Photography, also on Chilwell Road, said she hoped HS2 would not take as long, as the completion date of the tram kept getting put back.

Philippa Double, who runs Double Image Photography

She added that recovery from the disruption was "ongoing" and "tough" but she has arranged a meeting with other businesses, and Broxtowe Borough Council's town team to find out what can be done to reinvigorate trade on Chilwell Road.

She said: "I think in terms of creation of jobs, all that's really positive. I think long-term the tram coming will be a benefit to the town but I think it's going to take time and investment to build the town back up again."

But Sofia Meaden, who opened Swedish café and bakery Odin's Table, in High Road in May, said she hoped the tram would help bring people from elsewhere in the county to try their unique business.

Will Rossiter, head of the economic strategy research bureau at Nottingham Business School, is one of the report's authors.

He said: "There are real lessons that can be drawn from this project about how major transport infrastructure projects can be used to deliver wider benefits for the communities that they affect.These lessons have never been more timely with major projects such as HS2 beginning."

Steve Lowe, chief executive of NET concessionaire Tramlink Nottingham, said: "We were determined to work shoulder to shoulder with the city council to ensure the direct payback from the project ran as deeply as possible into the community in advance of the new tram network opening for service."

Scott Knowles, chief executive of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped "relatively short-term pain should result in long-term gain".

Broxtowe Borough Council says it is doing all it can to help Beeston business improve.

Council leader, Councillor Richard Jackson, said: "The council is committed to working with local businesses to ensure that Beeston can continue to grow and be a great place for people to live, work, shop and invest.

"The town centre's team is currently working with businesses on Chilwell Road to come up with new ideas to bring additional visitors to the area and the occupancy rate is currently 97%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 89.1%, with just two vacant units.

"The new tram system has allowed for additional parking spaces to be created to help encourage visitors to the area.

"Many spaces offer one free hour of parking, free parking is available after 3pm in the council's car parks across the borough as long as a one hour free ticket is displayed and loading bays along Chilwell Road can be used after 6pm to help attract visitors in the evenings to boost the night-time economy."